Three weeks didn’t sound like a long time in the grand scheme of things, but when you’re constantly on edge and looking over your shoulder for danger, well, three weeks felt like forever.

Molly had taken Max’s words in stride while he’d been standing there, looking all strong and manly. It was easy to say everything would be fine when you had a growly, angry man in the room, but as soon as he left, Molly had curled up in a ball on the tattered couch, turning his words over and over in her head.

After a while, she’d managed to convince herself that he was overreacting. That Rodney living in the building behind her was a coincidence; he was no stranger to this neighborhood after all. Max was a cop, trained to see conspiracies and bad guys in every corner. Rodney just wanted the money she owed him, fair and square. Then he’d leave her alone. At least that’s what she told herself so she could go to sleep.

Something happened overnight, though. Somehow, Max’s words and worries penetrated into her subconscious, making her pulse race and stomach churn as soon as she stepped outside to go to the bus stop.

Every day since, she’d practically jogged down the street, waiting as late as she could in the morning to head out so she wouldn’t be standing on the street for more than a minute or two before the bus arrived. Each afternoon she varied which bus she took home, sometimes staying late at work or going shopping downtown before going home. She tried to mix up her patterns so anyone watching wouldn’t be able to predict her return. She even stayed on the bus for an extra stop a few times, walking five blocks back to her house just so she’d be approaching her building from the opposite direction.

The stress was exhausting her, but Molly didn’t see any other way. She had nowhere near enough money to move yet, and she still had to settle her debt with Rodney. Just because he was in jail didn’t mean anything. In fact, it made it more likely that he’d need the cash. He could send someone else to come collect from her, and every time she thought of that, Max’s words would ring in her ears.

Even though she didn’t truly believe that Rodney wanted her for anything other than the money, there was a seed of doubt that, just maybe, Max was right. And it was that seed that had her tied in knots, jumping at every noise, and making herself crazy trying to vary her routine.

Speaking of Max, she hadn’t seen him since he’d quietly left her apartment after asking her to be careful. Actually asking! Like a normal person. Occasionally she thought she saw him driving down her street, but she never got a good enough look to say for sure.

Today was Friday, and payday, and Molly had never been so tired in her life. Between being on high alert watching out for Rodney or one of his buddies, and working as much overtime as she possibly could in an effort to get out of her shitty apartment, she needed a break. Two days of holing up at home, eating takeout food and watching movies alone, sounded perfect.

As soon as she stepped off the bus Molly knew something was wrong. It was her regular stop, but she was an hour later than normal so this should have thrown off anyone watching, but the feeling of being followed, stalked even, almost overpowered her as she made her way down the street. Past the corner store. Past the liquor store. Almost past the alley. Just ten more feet until she made it to the residential section of the street where there were far fewer places for someone to hide.

Footsteps echoed behind her, picking up their pace as she increased hers, but Molly dared not look back. If she didn’t see who was back there, she could pretend they weren’t after her. That they were just another person eager to get home on a Friday night. Until a rough hand grabbed her elbow from behind, pulling her to a stop.

“Where you off to in such a rush, Molls?”

“Just going home, Rodney.” She turned to face him, but he pulled her over to towards the curb, out of the way of other pedestrians. She’d expected him to drag her into the alley again, so when he went in the other direction she didn’t protest. If they were out on the street he couldn’t do anything too awful, right?

“Do you have my money?” he asked, getting right to the point. He seemed nervous and kept darting glances down the street, like he was looking for someone.

“I have two fifty of it. I’ll have last two fifty in two weeks, like I said before.” She hoped he’d take what she had and leave her alone.

Rodney tsked when he counted the money she handed over. “That’s a long time for me to wait, Molls. Why don’t we work out another way for you to pay me back?”

The nasty gleam in his eye had all of Max’s words rushing back into her head. “You said you were good with this payment plan. I’ll give you the rest in two weeks. I’m clean, and I want to stay that way.”

“Don’t you want to have nice clothes again, Molls? If you came and worked for me, you could have anything you want.” His hand rubbed her upper arm when he spoke, sending ugly chills through her body. She didn’t want him touching her. She didn’t want him anywhere near her.

“I’m not hooking for you, Rodney,” she said, trying to scan the area to see if there was anyone watching them but found no one. The bad feeling she had when she stepped off the bus had increased by about a thousand percent, and her instincts were urging her to break into a flat out run and get as far away from there as possible.

He laughed. “You’d have to lose a few pounds before I’d put you out there. Luckily, I know just what you need. Why don’t you come with me and I’ll make you right again?” The hand on her arm tightened at the same time a dark blue sedan with tinted windows pulled up next to them. It took ten seconds for her to figure out what he intended, and by then he’d managed to pull her a foot closer to the car.

“I’m not going anywhere with you, Rodney. I’ll give you the rest of the money in two weeks.” She tried to twist away but he didn’t let go.

“Well, I decided I don’t want to wait for my money,” he said in a menacing tone. “Get in the car, Molly. In a few hours you won’t even care anymore anyway.”

Oh god, she remembered what that felt like. Not to care about anything or anyone. The only thing that mattered was making sure the feeling never went away.

“No! I’m not going with you,” she yelled, fighting to get away from him. Adrenaline pumped through her veins, panic making her stronger. She would not go back to that life. He’d have to kill her first. “Stop! Let go of me!”

They were beginning to draw some stares, but Rodney just pushed her harder, trying to force her into the back seat of the waiting vehicle. “Fucking bitch, stop fighting me and get in!”

He shoved her to the ground and started dragging her the few short feet to what she knew would end up being her death. If he got her hooked again she wouldn’t make it back out alive. There was no way she could go through it and live.

Rodney almost had her there, when suddenly his painful hold on her arm disappeared and she fell on her ass.

“Get up, Molly, and go get in my truck.” A familiar voice barked at her.

She spotted his truck parked directly behind the sedan as she scrambled to her feet, gathering up the bags from the store she’d stopped at to kill time before heading home. Without looking back to see what Max was doing, she ran to the truck and dove into the passenger seat, locking the door immediately.

By the time she finally dared to look up a few seconds later, Max was already storming towards the truck, keys out and ready to go, while the blue sedan sped off down the street. Her heart was still pounding, unable to really believe she was safe. But for how long? Rodney would eventually be back. She knew that for certain now. He’d keep coming after her until he got what he wanted, which was apparently Molly.

“Are you okay?” Max’s voice was little more than a growl covering barely controlled rage. He didn’t look at her when he spoke, instead staring intently out the windshield as he peeled away from the curb.

Molly took a moment to check over her body and found some slight bruising on her arm and scrapes on her legs from the sidewalk. Nothing felt broken or in need of urgent attention. “I’m good.”

“You’re not good,” Max roared, the sound reverberating through the interior of the truck making Molly wince and shrink towards her door. “You were almost kidnapped off the street, Molly!”

Max finally looked at her and gentled his voice after taking in her uncomfortable position pressed up against the door. “I’m sorry I yelled, but what if I hadn’t been there? What if he’d gotten you into that car?”

“Don’t you think I’m asking myself those same questions?” Molly hurled back at him, sick to death of him acting like she was too stupid to live. Though, she hadn’t exactly proven him wrong. She’d refused to leave her crappy little apartment, even after Max warned her of the danger in staying there. Her stubbornness and pride had almost gotten her killed.

Max continued his rant, ignoring Molly’s petulant response. Which probably was better off. “Do you know what he would have done to you, Molly? I do. Gotten you hooked on drugs, again, and sold your body to make money for himself.”

Molly cringed at his blunt words but didn’t bother arguing. That’s exactly what would have happened. “I know, Max. Thank you for saving me.”

The truck stopped and Molly found they were parked in front of her building. Before she could open her door, Max jumped out of the truck and came around to her side and opened hers. “Come on, let’s go.” He helped her out of the truck and slammed the door, never letting go of her elbow.

“What are you doing, Max?” He wasn’t hurting her, by any means, as he steered her up the front walk to the door, guiding her with that firm grip on her left arm.

Without a word he took her keys from her trembling hand and unlocked the front door, ushered her inside, then shut it quickly behind them. The silence continued up the stairs to her apartment door, where he again unlocked it, pulled her inside, and then locked it again.

Finally, he turned and met her eyes. Molly could see nothing but determination on his strong face and she knew that whatever was about to come out of his mouth was going to be something that she was not going to like.

“I’m sorry for my harsh words to you the first time I came here. It wasn’t right of me to say those things. I hope you can forgive me, but even if you can’t, I don’t care. You can’t stay here, Molly. It’s not safe. I’ve told you that before, but this time, I’m not going to take no for an answer.” He stopped speaking and waited for her response, bracing for an argument. But Molly didn’t have one. He was right, he’d been right all along, and it was time to face facts. Her counselor told her she needed to learn to accept help when it was freely offered, and though she’d never imagined that Max Davidson would be the one offering, she couldn’t keep turning him down. Not when she’d almost been dragged back into a life she never wanted to experience again.

“Okay.” Shock rippled through Max’s face at her quick capitulation before he managed to hide it under his hard-ass detective face. At least that’s what Molly called it, since it only came out when Max was focused and meant business.

“Good. Let’s get you packed.”

They spent the next hour shoving all her belongings into grocery bags and garbage bags and the few boxes Max managed to find by the dumpster behind the building. He refused to leave her alone for even the few minutes it would take to run down to the liquor store at the corner, even though they always had plenty of boxes anyone could take. Molly didn’t push too hard though, wanting to just get the hell out of there. Every minute that passed was another minute Rodney had to renew his attack and come after her again. She didn’t even ask where Max planned to take her. It didn’t matter since anywhere would be safer than here.

It took two trips to load everything into Max’s truck and they both spent every second they were outside scanning the area for any sign of Rodney, or the blue sedan he jumped in earlier. Molly hoped that he’d gone into hiding, nursing the wounds Max inflicted. She didn’t ask for details but the ripped-up state of his knuckles and smattering of blood on his polo shirt told her he’d landed at least a few good blows.

After filling the truck, they climbed in and Max took off, constantly checking his mirrors to make sure no one was following them. Molly didn’t question why he spent the next twenty minutes driving aimlessly around the city, zig-zagging their way across town. She sat silently, not asking where they were going, not wanting to interrupt his evasive maneuvers. At least that’s what she told herself. She refused to admit that there was a small part of her that feared he’d take her to some crappy motel, in an unfamiliar neighborhood, and dump her there. Max normally wasn’t that type of guy, but he obviously still hated her and was only helping her out of some screwed up feelings of guilt. Maybe once he delivered her someplace he deemed safe, he’d run for the hills having done his duty.

Really, even if he chose to do that Molly couldn’t complain. Max didn’t owe her anything. He’d gone out of his way to watch over her and make her understand the threat to her safety. If he decided that the end of his assistance was wherever he left her, then it was. End of story. Accepting his help didn’t mean she would beg for more. Especially from Max.

He finally relaxed his white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel, and sat back in the seat, but Molly remained quiet. She felt him watching her but didn’t turn his way, instead watching their route for some clue where they were headed.

Run down factories gave way to equally haggard looking duplexes, finally becoming a neatly maintained, middle class neighborhood. Max took a left onto a quiet side street and backed into a long driveway, past a decent sized two-story house with neatly trimmed bushes. The white paint looked fresh, as did the glossy black trim, but what really caught her eye was the bright red front door. It looked inviting, like an actual home, and not anything like what Molly expected.

She finally ventured to ask the burning question that she knew he was waiting for. “Where are we?”

He didn’t answer until she turned to face him. “My house. You’re staying in the garage apartment.”

Max exited the truck without waiting for her response. Not that she could with her jaw lying on her lap. Sure. he’d suggested it a few weeks ago, but never did Molly think he’d actually bring her here. When she’d gathered her wits, Molly dashed after him, catching up as he was unlocking a door to the right of the double garage doors.

“What do you mean?”

Max ignored her question and headed up the narrow stairs, leaving Molly trailing behind for the second time that day. She had no choice but to follow, trying to come up with an argument that would get him to take her somewhere else. The problem, she now realized, was that he knew once she’d agreed to his offer of help and he got her here, there wasn’t much she could do to make him take her away. Short of dragging her stuff in bags down the street, Molly was stuck.

Anger boiled through her veins at the situation he’d created, catching her in his web, leaving her helpless and at his mercy. The fear from earlier quickly faded in the face of her rage at having her desire to stay independent undermined so thoroughly. But even through the haze of emotion, a tiny part of her felt relieved that he’d taken the decision out of her hands and forced her to come here. Being in Max’s backyard would keep her safe while still allowing her to be on her own. She reluctantly admitted to herself that living in his garage apartment was probably the best option she had.

Even though her brain knew this turn of events was beneficial, her heart still stung with betrayal at being duped, both in the present and the past. She never would have chosen to live near Max. It hurt too much seeing him occasionally; having him just twenty feet and a closed door away, knowing that he didn’t trust her and really didn’t even like her very much, would be heartbreaking. For that reason alone, no matter how much her brain told her to shut up and put away her shit, she had to make Max understand she couldn’t live there. Even if it meant admitting how much his words from a few weeks ago had hurt her.

Unfortunately, once they reached the top of the stairs and entered the apartment Molly’s plan to protest fled in the face of the space before her.

“I though you said nobody’s lived here since you bought the house?” She’d expected a stuffy, dusty, cramped space, but instead found a freshly painted living room, almost new furniture without a speck of dust on it and wall-to-wall carpeting that was either brand new or recently cleaned.

She glanced at Max and found him looking sheepish. “Yeah, after I said that I realized I should fix the place up, especially since I was offering it up to you.”

“You didn’t have to get furniture and stuff though, Max.”

“I didn’t buy any of it. My partner, Grayson, and his wife are having a baby and she’s in clean-out-the-house mode. This is all stuff that was sitting in their basement from when they moved in together.” He paused and walked into the small kitchen that overlooked the postage stamp backyard. “There are dishes, pots and pans, and silverware in here.” He gestured to the cupboards and drawers. “A toaster and coffee maker, and even some dishtowels that don’t match their current house, all from one of their apartments.”

“It’s really too much,” Molly protested, opening doors and drawers and finding them practically full. On top of what he’d said, there were glasses and coffee mugs, baking dishes and mixing bowls, cookie trays and cooking utensils. Basically, an entire kitchen set-up, and not a cheap one either. She recognized the quality of the items right away. Far nicer than the meager supplies she’d purchased.

“Bridget, that’s Grayson’s wife, said they were gifted all new things at their wedding shower so this stuff has been sitting in their basement, taking up space.”

“What about the microwave? And that television in the living room?” Those appeared suspiciously new to Molly.

“The microwave is mine, from my old apartment. I have a built in one that came with the house. The television is from my basement, but when I bought the house I got a big screen to go in the family room, so I rarely use the old one.”

Molly wanted to refuse his generosity, especially since it was coming from Max, but she couldn’t. Not when her current circumstances put her in no position to turn down help. Even if this was over the top. Now that she’d taken a moment to breathe, she recognized that Max was correct in saying that if she stayed in that other apartment, in that other neighborhood, with Rodney breathing down her neck every time she stepped out the door, she would end up back in trouble, despite her best intentions.

If Max hadn’t been there today and stopped Rodney from grabbing her, who knows what would have happened. Well, she had a clue, but the thoughts were too terrible to consider. She’d worked too hard to go back, and if she had to accept Max’s charity to make sure she was safe, she would.

“What were you doing in my part of town today, anyway?” she asked and watched his ears flush red for a second before he regained control. He looked so out of his depth that Molly fought a giggle. Max wasn’t the type of man used to explaining himself. Watching the big, tough detective stumble over what to say amused her greatly.

“Well, I was there keeping an eye on that building where we busted Winters a few weeks ago.”

Molly suspected that was probably only part of the reason, but she let it go, instead moving to a more important question. “What the hell is Rodney doing out of jail, anyway? Shouldn’t he still be locked up if you just arrested him?”

“He made bail, Molly,” Max replied with a long sigh. “No matter what we do, it just keeps on going.” He got lost in his thoughts for a moment.

Molly didn’t know what to say. She knew very well what he meant; she’d been a part of the problem for years. Not that she’d been a dealer, but she’d helped a few in her quest to stay afloat and get better deals. She had drawn the line at selling her body for money to feed her habit, though.

“What did Winters say to you today?”

“He was looking for the rest of the money that I owe him from before, and when I didn’t have it he tried to talk me into hooking for him to pay it back. I politely declined that offer and he didn’t like my answer much. Then you arrived.”

Max let out a harsh breath at her words. “How much do you still owe him?”

“Two hundred and fifty dollars. I’ve already paid him five hundred.” And boy did she miss that money. She’d been barely making ends meet the last month.

“Are you going to have the money for him?”

Molly cringed, thinking about another week of ramen and peanut butter sandwiches. “Yes. I’ll have it.”

He scowled and turned to pace into the living room, arms across his chest, then back into the kitchen. And back out to the living room where he finally dropped onto the gray chenille couch.

Molly followed him out and sat at the small dinette table next to the half wall that separated the kitchen and living room. She’d rather sit on something more comfortable after the day she’d had so far, but it felt too intimate to go sit next to Max, especially when he was so agitated.

“He’s not going to leave you alone until you pay him back that money, Molly.”

“I know, Max. That’s why I’ve made sure I paid him, and lost five pounds in the process.” She fought to keep the sarcasm out of her voice but failed. But, he was so intent on working something out in his head, Max didn’t notice her attitude, so she bit back more snarky comments. She was in no position to piss him off right now.

“And I know you don’t want to go back to living that life. I can see it in your eyes.” He turned his head and met her eyes. “I’m so proud of you, Molly. I know it’s been hard, but you’re doing it, on your own.”

Molly didn’t know what to say, if she could even speak around her suddenly clogged throat. Nobody had ever been proud of her, or looked at her the way Max was looking at her now. With respect and admiration, and maybe a hint of something else, none of which she deserved.

Finally, she managed to whisper the only thing that came to mind. “Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me. I owe you.” Those words crushed her heart a little. Knowing he was doing this out of guilt sucked, but hearing him say it point blank like that really hurt.

“No, you don’t owe me anything, Max.”

“I do,” he insisted. “I was an asshole back then, and again a few weeks ago, and I need to make up for it.”

Well, when he put it that way Molly kind of agreed. Giving her two hours to pack her stuff and get out when he knew she had nowhere to go was a really shitty thing to do, all the while telling her that he didn’t think she could handle living on her own. Though she suspected he felt responsible for much more than that.

“Okay, let’s not argue about the past, please,” she said, raising a hand in defeat. He appeared surprised that she gave in, but she was tired and wanted to get settled in her new home.

“I’m going to give you the money to pay him off.”

Molly couldn’t have been more shocked if Max had told her he was quitting the police force and joining the traveling circus.

“What?” It didn’t make sense that he’d do something like that given his profession.

“It’s the only way he’ll leave you alone.” The words sounded pained and Molly knew it took a lot for Max to make this offer.

“You’re going to lend,” she made sure to stress the last word so there’d be no dispute that she was paying him back, “me money to pay off a debt I owe to a drug dealing pimp?”

Max’s face screwed up like he’d sucked on a lemon and if it had been another time she would have laughed.

“Yes,” he spat. “I don’t want you starving yourself to get this scumbag out of your life. Take your old bus home after work the next time you’re supposed to meet him and when he approaches you give him the money and tell him you’re done with that life and to leave you alone. I’ll be across the street to make sure he doesn’t try to grab you again.”

Molly studied Max while he spoke, trying to reconcile the man in front of her with the overeager, newly minted officer she’d fallen in love with years ago. Back then, he’d represented safety and stability, bringing order to her chaotic existence. Unfortunately, he’d only been able to view the world through a very narrow lens of right and wrong at the time, unable to accept that life didn’t work that way for everyone.

Now, she didn’t know what to think. Sure, she barely knew him anymore, but she never would have expected Max to make the offer he’d just made no matter how many shades of gray he saw now.

“Are you sure about this, Max?” she asked, needing confirmation that he hadn’t lost his mind. “I can handle it on my own.”

“I’m sure he needs to leave you alone, for good, and lending you the money will make that happen, and make things easier on you.” His words and tone left no more room for argument. He was clearly done with this conversation, so Molly moved on to a new topic. One that started bothering her the minute she had crossed the threshold.

“How much do you want for rent?” She held her breath, not knowing if the number he gave her would be too low or too high, and which would be worse.

“Two hundred a month,” Max replied in that same no-nonsense tone, but this time she wasn’t just going to give in, especially when he was being ridiculous.

“That’s not enough money, Max. Not for a furnished one-bedroom apartment in this neighborhood.”

He completely ignored her protests and kept talking.

“That includes electricity and water. There’s no gas up here so you won’t have a bill for that. Stove and heat are both electric. There’s wireless internet out here too, so don’t worry about that, and I can give you the logon for my streaming accounts so you’ll have television and movies.”

He walked around, inspecting the place as if she wasn’t even there. “Come see the bedroom. You haven’t been in here yet,” he called from the other room.

Molly followed the sound of his voice to the bedroom where she found a neatly made queen size bed covered in a pink and white striped comforter that had matching pink pillow shams edged in lace, much prettier than the one she’d bought on clearance. A cream dresser and chest sat on the opposite wall and matched the headboard and nightstand. The furniture had distressed edges that made it look old when it had to be practically brand new.

“This is beautiful, Max.” Molly breathed calmly, momentarily forgetting her annoyance at his obscenely low rent. “There’s matching curtains and rugs, too. It looks like a room for a grown-up princess. Where did you get it all?”

“Bridget again,” he replied. “Grayson wouldn’t let her keep this set in their master bedroom when they got married. Said it was too girly. So they put it in their guest bedroom, but now they need that space for the nursery, so I bought it off them.”

“Wait,” Molly snapped back from cataloging her shabby chic dream room. “I though you said they gave you everything because it was sitting in their basement gathering dust.”

She tried to sound as stern as Max but didn’t quite hit the mark. And he seemed aggravated that he’d slipped and given her that piece of information.

“The bedroom set was the only thing I paid for and it wasn’t much,” he said.

“How much, Max? I’ll pay you back.” She couldn’t really afford it on top of repaying him the money she needed to pay off Rodney, but she did love the furniture. She also didn’t want to owe Max anything. She wasn’t in a position to refuse his help, but that didn’t mean she liked being a charity case.

“It’s fine, Molly. Drop it.” She didn’t know why his firm order had her quivering inside. The feeling confused her. She still found Max attractive, that wasn’t the issue, but reacting to being told what to do was new.

“No. What if I want to take it with me when I move out of here?” Before she realized what she’d be admitting, she confessed, “I’d really like to have something of my own, even if it’s used.”

His face softened at her quiet words, but he didn’t quite give in. “Let’s talk about it in a few months, after you’re settled, and we get rid of the Rodney problem. Then I’ll sell it to you so it’s all yours. Okay?”

“This is still too much, Max. I need to pay you more for the rent and television.” She definitely needed to have something to watch. Long nights alone up here would be impossible to bear without some form of entertainment.

“What you need to do is make sure you follow all the requirements of your parole and make a new life for yourself.” The hard edge was back and now Molly didn’t like it one bit.

“What are you going to do? Call my parole officer if I break curfew?” She had a quick thought that she probably shouldn’t be taunting him like that, but it fled when he stepped into her space.

“No, I’m thinking I’ll handle you like your grandma would have.”

What was he talking about? It took her a second to make sense of his threat, and when she did, her mouth dropped open in astonishment.

“You think you’re going to spank me?” She shook her head in refusal. No freaking way was she letting that happen. “How do you even know about that?”

As much as she was verbally refusing to be subject to discipline from Max, a little voice in the back of Molly’s mind perked up at the thought.

“I’ve become very good friends with your cousin and her husband over the last few years, so I know all about how you grew up,” he replied, his face giving no hint of what he thought about her history, though.

Well, that didn’t make Molly feel any better. In fact, she wanted to run and hide underneath that pretty pink comforter right about now.

“That’s also how Keith deals with Sara when she gets a wild hair and goes off and does something insanely nice but ridiculously stupid,” Max continued.

That was a very apt description of Sara. She always saw the best in people and wanted to help them, even at her own personal risk. Molly was the perfect example of Sara being too nice for her own good. But…

“He spanks her and she lets him?” Molly found it didn’t take much effort on her part to wrap her mind around the idea.

“She says it keeps her accountable and makes her feel safe.” Max leaned in, until there was barely six inches between their faces and she could feel his warm breath on her cheek and smell a hint of his spicy cologne. She’d never seen the look he now wore—one of caring and determination and focus. One that made her pay attention to every word he said. “And I think that’s just what you need too, Molly. Give me a copy of the terms of your parole. I’m going to make sure you meet every one of them, and if you don’t you’ll be over my knee.”

His announcement left Molly speechless, torn between screeching in protest and running to do his bidding. In the end, she couldn’t muster up enough brain cells to argue with him, and she wasn’t sure if she even wanted to. Part of her felt she should rant and rave, and refuse to agree, but a larger part of her wanted what he was offering. She hadn’t had anyone look out for her in a very long time and the offer was too tempting to pass up, even with the threat of spanking attached to it.

The likelihood of that happening wasn’t high anyway since she had to abide by the terms of her release or risk returning to prison, and that was a much bigger threat than a spanking, so what was the harm?